This invention relates to container holding assemblies and particularly to assemblies for situating paint containers at various positions on a step ladder.
A commercial or non-commercial painter who uses a step ladder to reach an area which is to be painted frequently encounters difficulty in situating a paint container so that it may be easily reached. For example, the painter may find it convenient to have the container mounted outwardly from the generally upwardly extending supporting legs of the ladder, or he may find it more advantageous to locate the container on the outwardly swinging paint shelf with which such a step ladder is frequently provided.
Many types of apparatus exist for holding a paint container upon a step ladder or other type of ladder in these aforementioned orientations. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,683,553 issued to Ariss, 3,319,916 issued to Malicoat, 3,313,506 issued to Bauchard, and 2,911,133 issued to Ruggieri, and British Patent Specification No. 856,655 issued to Hunt.
The devices of many of these references, however, suffer certain shortcomings. For example, in certain situations, it may be desirable to prop the top tread of the step ladder against a wall to support the ladder on two legs rather than unfold the step ladder. With the prior art disclosures, however, the paint shelf of the step ladder would interfere with such positioning. It may further be desirable in such a situation to tilt the paint container to recover more paint from it. This invention is directed to achieve such objectives as providing a container holding arrangement which will allow paint to be held in these positions as well as providing an improved arrangement for holding a paint container on the shelf of a step ladder.
In accordance with the invention, a container-receiving arrangement is adapted for clamping to either an upwardly extending support or an apertured horizontal work surface of a ladder. The arrangement comprises container-receiving means having at least first vertical and horizontal members, first bracket means attached to the first horizontal member and adapted for positioning the container-receiving means on the first horizontal member, and first clamp means adapted for attachment through the aperture to the first bracket means for clamping the horizontal work surface of the ladder between the first bracket means and the first clamp means thereby removably clamping the container-receiving arrangement to the horizontal work surface. Second bracket means are adapted for removable, selective attachment to either the first horizontal or vertical member when the container-receiving means is clamped to the horizontal work surface or to the support respectively. The second bracket means provides a supporting base when attached to the horizontal member and the container-receiving arrangement is clamped to the horizontal work surface. Second clamp means is provided and is adapted for removable attachment to the second bracket means for removably clamping the container-receiving means to the upwardly extending support of the ladder when the second bracket means is attached to the vertical member and the second clamp means is attached to the second bracket means with the support therebetween.